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CEMENTVILLE,
TEXAS
The Alamo Cement
Company and
the creation of San
Antonio Landmarks
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The
Quarry as Shopping Center
Photo
courtesy Sarah
Reveley, March 2008
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In his excellent
book San Antonio Uncovered, author Mark Louis Rybczyk has included
a chapter called Six San Antonio Landmarks that are Built in Old Rock
Quarries. Two of the six are related to the Alamo Portland Cement
Company. The first is the Japanese Sunken Gardens in Brackenridge
Park, donated when the cement company relocated to Alamo
Heights in 1907.
The second is the Alamo Heights'
Subdivision of Lincoln Heights, once known as Cementville, a community
that, while not meeting the standard definitions, nonetheless had
schools, a church and residential housing – in the shadows cast by
the huge smokestacks. |
From
Mr. Rybczyk’s book:
“When this plant was built, it was still three miles from the end
of the streetcar line and pretty much a wild, untamed piece of land.
When the company moved all of its operation to Loop 1604 and Green
Mountain Road in 1985, the company town died and the site was shut
down sold to developers. The Cementville headquarters and laboratory
have been redeveloped into restaurants and the old plant has become
the Quarry Market. The smokestacks were incorporated into the design
of one of the retail outlets. The abandoned pit became a golf course.”
In his typical way of inserting a complement whenever he can, Rybczyk
adds: “It’s interesting to note how comfortable San Antonians have
become with redeveloping quarries. In the past, the abandoned quarries
were redesigned to mask the former use. Now, developers embrace the
quarry’s past.” |
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The
photos in the theatre lobby viewed from the escalator.
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, March 2008 |
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The
Rodriquez Fountain built for the Alamo Cement Company Offices
Photo
courtesy Sarah
Reveley, March 2008
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A
live Grackle sits on the now dry fountain inside the Rodriquez pavilion
Photo
courtesy Sarah
Reveley, March 2008
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Our hats are
off to developers who incorporate the past into modern attractions.
May their profits increase to fund other projects.
In a related story, another former cement plant awaits a new life.
The Longhorn Cement Company has left extensive ruins just north of
San Antonio. What changes await this abandoned facility
remain to be seen, but its potential is at least as rich as the Quarry
Market. |
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Longhorn Quarry:
Another abandoned San
Antonio cement plant stands vacant near Wurzbach Parkway, just
W of I-35. (See
letter below) TE photos, February 2008
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The
former Longhorn Cement Plant and Quarry
Photo courtesy Noel
Kerns, October, 2007
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Letter of
correction from photographer Noel Kerns:
"I just
noticed your story [with the photos] of the abandoned quarry in
San Antonio. I took
some exterior recon shots of the place, planning to come back someday
and do a night shoot of it. I haven’t returned, but I wanted to
give you a correct location on it. In the article, I notice the
author refered to it as being on Loop 1604, but in reality, it isn’t
even close. It's much closer to I-35.
I’m not 100% positive, but I believe the plant was typically referred
to as the ‘Longhorn Quarry’…that was all I’d ever heard it called
until I read the TE article.
Technically, it’s located on Wurzbach Pkwy, just west of the intersection
of Thousand Oaks." - Noel
Kerns, Dallas, March 13, 2008
"Northeast
School District has announced plans to buy it (the Longhorn Quarry)
and turn it into a secondary football stadium." - Entry on
CityData.com
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